Calendars

Search

PREVIOUSLY PLAYED

LEONARD COHEN: BIRD ON A WIRE

12:30 2:45 5:10 7:25 9:45

Through Tuesday, January 31

DIRECTED AND EDITED BY TONY PALMER

LEONARD COHEN: BIRD ON A WIRE follows the legendary musician/songwriter/poet (1934-2016) during his 1972 European concert tour, performing many of his classics (“Suzanne,” “Sisters of Mercy,” “Chelsea Hotel,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “So Long, Marianne”). Directed by Tony Palmer, this long-lost movie, never released theatrically, captures vintage Cohen – singing backstage with his band, gamely enduring press interviews, balking at encores (only to be gently coaxed back on stage by producer/bandmate Bob Johnston), self-deprecatingly funny, and humbly assessing life on the road (“Iike some parrot chained to his stand night after night”). He even offers to reimburse disgruntled Dutch concertgoers after the sound system goes kaput. A portrait of a deeply reflective, surprisingly genial artist, at his creative peak.

Note: Tickets are available for every show at our box office on day of show only. (However there are no online ticket sales for this film.)

UK 1972/2010 106 MINS. ISOLDE FILMS

Reviews

“Critics’ Pick. Mr Cohen granted extraordinary access to Mr. Palmer and his crew… (Cohen) was always a remarkable live performer. Palmer captures all this with a keen eye. The movie is a worthy time capsule and a must for Cohen devotees.”
– Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

“Critics’ Pick. (Cohen) generally spins wisdom out of thin air. Palmer smartly lets performances of select songs run almost all the way though. His voice has long haunted me; now his eyes do too. Cohen was a pop star with literary language, a self-aware man of deep thought often discounted as a simple bard of love songs. But how he saw the world and interpreted it with eloquent, heartbreaking words, will never be replicated.”
– April Wolfe, Village Voice

“WONDERFUL. Cohen at the peak of his power, mesmerising audiences with beautiful, sad songs.”
– Sam Wollaston, The Guardian (UK)

“As moving as the man’s music. Simply one of the most beautiful and moving music documentaries I have ever seen. The behind-the-scenes Leonard snooping is both fascinating and hilarious… It is also a compelling document of Europe in the early Seventies…a visual match for Cohen’s music itself.”
– Bernadette McNulty, The Telegraph (UK)

“A breath-taking vision. Gorgeous cinematography, alternating between black-and-white and color footage, rich, resonant audio quality and a sort of loose-but-reverent intimacy combined with stunning live concert performances and candid backstage, interview and travel sequences to show Cohen at the peak of his popularity and the top of his game.”
– Christel Loar, PopMatters